


Three Years

by bambam1a



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Depression, Happy Ending, M/M, Self-Harm, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-27 00:19:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2671853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bambam1a/pseuds/bambam1a
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton thought that the timers were just bullshit. They were bullshit because Ashton had touched his soulmate for the first time three years ago and he still had no idea who his soulmate was.</p><p>  <i>The one where Ashton is depressed, Michael and Calum come to visit him in New York and he finally finds his soulmate.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Years

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote another soulmate fic yayy! My love for soulmate fics is never-ending!  
> This one is pretty angsty though and not so soulmate centric but more angst centric if that makes sense... Probably doesn't but anyways..
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own 5 Seconds of Summer and this is FICTION.

Ashton thought that the timers were just bullshit. The timers that told you when you'd touch your soulmate for the first time. They were bullshit because Ashton had touched his soulmate for the first time three years ago and he still had no idea who his soulmate was. He can remember that day like yesterday. He had been young and naive. He had loved the thought of meeting his soulmate and when the day came he was constantly checking his wrist to see when it was the time.

_Ashton glanced the clock, only six minutes until the class ends and exactly five minutes and forty seconds until he finally touches his soulmate. He kept checking the time and his best friend Michael kept rolling his eyes._  
 _"Chill mate, the time ain't gonna go faster if you keep checking", Michael whispered to him and Ashton just flipped him off._  
 _When the bell finally rung Ashton jumped up and stuffed his books in his bag. He checked his timer and squealed quietly. Only thirty seconds. He rushed out of the classroom, not bothering to wait for Michael._  
 _He walked towards his locker and looked around, looked all the faces and wondered which one of them belonged to his soulmate. People were giving him weird looks as he grinned from ear to ear._  
 _He squeezed through a group of people who walked past and then he felt it. The squeeze on his wrist that meant that the time had stopped. He froze and looked at his wrist. 00:00. He turned around and desperately looked around. His world came crashing down because how could he know who was his soulmate when he had literally touched at least ten people when walking past everyone. He stared helplessly and just stood there, in the middle of the hallway all his hope and excitement running out of him._

_He jumped when someone touched his shoulder and looked behind him to see Michael._  
 _"So?" he asked and Ashton lifted his wrist for Michael to see._  
 _"Who is it?" Michael asked and seemed excited. His face fell soon though because he noticed the tears welling up in Ashton's eyes._  
 _"I have no idea who it is, there were way too many people", Ashton whispered. He had missed his chance and now there was no way he could know who is his soulmate. Michael took Ashton's wrist and pulled him to the janitors closet. Neither of them noticed the blond boy looking for Ashton, he had noticed. And he knew they were meant to be. But he had lost that curly haired boy from his sight and pulled his hair furiously._

_Michael and Ashton had skipped rest of the day and Michael had just held Ashton while he cried. The red-haired boy knew how important the soulmate thing was to Ashton._

Nowadays Ashton just hated the timer on his wrist that showed him the zeros. Showed him how he had failed to meet the love of his life. When Ashton had started college a year ago he had moved from Sydney to New York and started a new life. Except it didn't turn out to be that easy.  
He had no friends, his closest friend had been Michael who had met his soulmate just before they graduated and moved with him, Calum, to Adelaide. Ashton sure visited Australia, like twice a year, but he was lonely.  
He had his own little apartment and shitty job at the local McDonalds every night from 6 to 11pm, and from 7pm to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. He was only free on Sundays. He went to college and basically he couldn't even remember the time when he had not been stressed and overworked.

In his last year of High School he had started to slip into depression and after moving to New York he had just fallen deeper. His life had no meaning anymore, he wouldn't have anyone who loved him, he had a shitty job and his grades were nothing to be happy about. He always had headache because he didn't sleep enough; he just couldn't sleep even though he was dead tired. Every day stress and anxiety were floating around him and he was just tired. Tired of living and trying.  
The white and red lines on his wrists showed how weak he was. He tried to fill his body with pain to forget everything else he didn't want to remember.

Sometimes Ashton though what Michael would say if he'd see how bad Ashton had gone. Ashton hadn't seen his family in months, mostly because flying to Australia was so expensive and the flight was so long there was no point to go and visit if he was gonna spend less than a week there. But he often spoke to Michael who always seemed to hear that Ashton was not okay. Ashton never spoke about it though, he always made Michael tell him about his life with Calum in Adelaide.

\-------------------------------------------------

It was six in the morning when Ashton heard his doorbell ring. He hadn't slept at all yet and he was feeling tired and dizzy. He hadn't been bothered to eat anything after he came home from his shift. But it wasn't like he usually ate anyways. He often forgot to eat until he was about to pass out. He just didn't care. What was the point?  
When the doorbell rang again and again Ashton sighed and got up. He stumbled to the front door and opened it without bothering to use the peephole to see who it was.  
He was pulled in a hug before he had time to register that Michael and Calum were standing behind his door.  
"I've missed you Ash", Michael said and squeezed him tighter.  
"Missed you too Mikey", Ashton whispered and let his head fall on Michael's shoulder. Calum greeted him and smiled sadly when he noticed the dark bags under Ashton's eyes.  
"Come on in", Ashton said and moved so they could carry the bags in. Ashton shut the door behind them and grimaced at the red cuts on his wrist. He'd have to get a long sleeved shirt quickly.

"Why are you here?" Ashton asked as he plopped down next to Calum on the couch.  
"We decided to take a few weeks off from University because we wanted to visit you, we're staying here for a month. We though we could crash at your place, if it's okay?" Michael spoke. Ashton was a bit surprised but Michael's words made him weirdly happy. They had come to see him.  
"Of course it's okay, this place is a bit small though, but you can sleep in my room and I'll take the couch", Ashton suggested but Calum shook his head.  
"We can take the couch, this is your apartment Ash", Calum said and Ashton sent him a tired smile. Michael felt his heart drop because that smile just seemed so fake.  
"Are you okay Ashton?" Michael asked worriedly and Ashton suddenly found his fingers very interesting.  
"Yeah, I'm fine", he said and looked away.  
"Have you been sleeping at all?" Calum asked and brought his hand to touch the bags under Ashton's eyes.  
"Yeah, I'm just a bit stressed. College and all that, you know", Ashton said and gave them another fake smile.  
"But you must be tired, long flight yeah? I'll get you some pillows and blankets so you can sleep, it's my day off too and I was gonna spend it in bed", Ashton said and stood up. He didn't mention that he always spent his Sundays in bed because he was just too tired to do anything. Michael nodded and went to help Ashton while Calum stayed in the living room.

The whole Sunday was spent in bed. Michael and Calum slept because they were quite jet lagged, and Ashton just laid in bed, he did get a few hours of sleep though which was good. But he was pretty sure he didn't fall asleep but passed out because of the lack of sleep.  
Ashton was pretty busy during the week and Michael and Calum noticed it. They spent the days walking around New York city and usually tried to catch up with Ashton before he went to work and after he came home.  
They noticed that something was terribly wrong with Ashton. They noticed how Ashton often forgot to eat if they didn't offer him anything and they noticed how Ashton never seemed to sleep. And they were worried. Michael couldn't believe he had let Ashton go this far.

On Thursday night quarter past midnight, they all had gone to bed already, Michael heard quiet sobbing from Ashton's room. He carefully sat up and frowned. He looked at Calum who was looking at him with worried eyes as well.  
"I'm gonna go talk to him", Michael whispered and quietly walked to Ashton's door. He knocked twice before opening the door.  
"Ash?" he whispered and heard Ashton sniffle.  
"Yeah? Is everything alright?" Ashton spoke and tried to sound like he just hadn't been crying his eyes out.  
"Yeah, with us yes. But with you? I don't think so", Michael said and walked to Ashton's bed. Ashton sniffled again and sat up.  
"Talk to me", Michael said and hugged Ashton.  
"I'm fine Mikey, I'm just tired", Ashton said and hugged Michael back.  
"Tired?" Michael repeated and Ashton mumbled something he didn't quite understand.  
"What?"  
"I'm tired of living Michael", Ashton said a bit louder and Michael felt his heart break. Then Ashton started sobbing again and they couldn't continue talking because Michael had to calm Ashton down and he immediately fell asleep after the tears stopped. Michael placed the cover over Ashton and walked back to the living room. Calum was still awake and definitely had heard the few words Michael and Ashton had shared.

\----------------------------------------

On Friday Michael and Calum woke up at the same time Ashton did and insisted on walking with him to the college. Ashton was so tired, even though he had actually slept the night before, that he had to go and get some coffee on the way to school. Michael and Calum followed with him as he walked in the Starbucks near his house, he actually had never visited the coffee shop before. The line wasn't very long but the three friends had time to share a few words before it was their time to order. Ashton was a bit creeped out because the blond boy behind the counter was staring at him intensely.  
"Um?"  
"You", the boy said and Ashton glanced at his friends who both shrugged and stared at the blond boy.  
"I swear to god I've seen you before", the boy said and Ashton frowned.  
"Y-you don't happen to be from Sydney?" the boy asked and Ashton's heart skipped a beat. He nodded slowly and the other boy's eyes lightened up.  
"You are that boy! I know you are! Three years ago we were juniors in High School in Sydney! I... You! You were the one who stopped my timer!" the boy finally finished and Ashton froze. He heard Michael breathe in sharply.  
Then he did what he first could think of. _He ran_

Three years ago when Ashton's timer had stopped he had actually given up on the idea of finding his soulmate. He never thought that he could meet his soulmate on the other side of the world years later. He didn't know how to feel, honestly. The spark of happiness was there but he had lived for so long with the thought that there would be no one to love him that it was actually quite hard for him to believe that the boy from Starbucks would actually be his soulmate. The one who was meant to love him for the rest of his life. Ashton didn't want to get his hopes up either, what if he had just been messing with him? Some kind of sick joke or something. But deep down Ashton had felt the connection between him and the boy behind the counter.

Michael and Calum found Ashton in his apartment gasping for air and tugging his hair. He was sitting next to the front door and tears were pooling in his eyes.  
"Ashton, buddy. Look at me", Michael spoke after kneeling next to Ashton. The curly haired boy looked at Michael and tried to fill his lungs with air.  
"Take deep breaths Ash, it's okay. Everything is okay. Do you want anything, maybe a glass of water?" Michael spoke and Ashton nodded. Calum disappeared to the kitchen and Michael kept calming Ashton down. Calum came back with a glass of water and he waited for Ashton to breathe properly before handing it to him.  
"H-he w-was-s", Ashton stuttered and Michael shushed him.  
"We know, now come on let's get you to the couch and I'll cook something for us. Ashton skipped the day and called to his boss that he was sick and couldn't come to work that day. Michael and Calum didn't bring up the soulmate thing; they knew Ashton needed time to think.

Just when Ashton was about to go to bed his phone beeped. He frowned and took it from the nightstand. No one ever texted him, his family preferred to call and now that his friends were with him they had no reason to text either. He read the message and his heart skipped a beat.

**Hi Ashton! you have a lovely name btw... anyways it's Luke from the coffee shop.. yeah that person who freaked you out with his words about soulmates. i'm sorry, i didn't meant to freak you out like that but i've just been waiting for so long to see you! i hope you text back and that we could meet some time, we're soulmates after all so we're like meant to be or something lol. -Luke x**

Ashton was shaking as he typed his answer to Luke

**of course we can meet, maybe tomorrow? or is it too soon? i'm free till seven -Ashton**

When he woken up the next morning he regretted his decision to meet Luke that day. They had decided to meet at the local park at two o'clock so they could talk and spend some time together. But when Ashton opened his eyes, after getting two hours of sleep, he just wanted to stay in bed the whole day. He hadn't been able to fall asleep until five am and now it was only seven.  
He didn't want to get up like ever and just wanted to cry. It was one of those days when he felt like the whole world was weighting him down. Not even the small hope of meeting his soulmate could get him feel better.  
He turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. He knew Michael and Calum would probably sleep for a few hours and he was more than okay with that. He wanted some alone time right now.

An hour later Ashton finally bursted into tears. He buried his face on the pillow and cried and cried. He was _so_ sad and tired. His depression had started in High School, partly because he didn't know who his soulmate was. But now that he could meet the person Ashton didn't know if it was enough to make his life worth living. He wasn't really that suicidal but sometimes he just thought that maybe he should just take the easy way out.

Half one Ashton was still in bed and Michael knocked on his door before walking in. He frowned when he saw Ashton still in bed and just staring at the ceiling.  
"You should get up Ash", he said and looked at his fried. The permanent dark bags under Ashton's eyes worried him, did he ever get enough sleep?  
"Did you sleep well?" he asked when Ashton sat up.  
"Yeah", he replied quietly and Michael didn't believe him one bit but let it go.  
"We made breakfast", Michael then said and Ashton nodded. He was extremely worried about Ashton's eating habits too, he barely ever ate if Michael or Calum didn't offer him anything. The fridge had even been empty the day they arrived.  
"I'll come in minute." Michael exited the room and Ashton pulled himself on his feet. He pulled a hoodie over his head and left the room with only the hoodie and boxers. He couldn't be bothered to use pants but he needed to hide his cuts with sleeves.  
"Good morning Ash", Calum smiled to him when he sat down. Ashton replied to him with a grunt and sipped the coffee Michael handed him. He also gave him some eggs and toast. He thanked Michael with a smile, a fake one. But he honestly was glad that Michael kind of took care of him because Ashton was too tired to worry about food.  
"I'm seeing Luke today", Ashton spoke quietly and his friends looked at him.  
"That's good, isn't it? You finally found what you wanted to get all those years ago", Michael smiled and Ashton nodded. He was starting to get excited, but even if they were soulmates would Luke want a boy like him? A boy who was so ready to give up.

He dressed in black skinny jeans and a black sweater. He put on his glasses and tried to fix his hair, it was just a messy mop of curls and usually Ashton didn't even brush it every day. He took his phone, keys and wallet before saying bye to his friends and leaving the apartment.  
Ashton was really nervous when he was walking towards the park. He was finally properly meeting his soulmate, it was gonna be so weird to meet the person he had dreamed of his whole childhood. The day started to feel a bit easier, even though the morning had just felt bad. He felt lighter and not so sad anymore, tired he was but only physically at the moment. He knew he would get back to his tired and sad self at some point but just now he felt fine and was happy that for once he actually was excited to do something.

He saw Luke sitting on one of the benches and walked closer. The other boy was typing on his phone but stuffed it in his pocket and jumped up when he noticed Ashton.  
"Hi Luke", Ashton said and smiled awkwardly. The smile wasn't as fake as what he was used to but it still wasn't his real happy smile.  
"Ashton", Luke greeted him and before Ashton even realized he was pulled in a hug. At first he tensed against Luke but then melted into his touch. It felt right, to be there and have Luke's arms wrapped around his waist. It wasn't like when Michael was hugging him. It was different and he felt loved. And that was when he was sure they really were soulmates. Only your soulmate could make you feel so loved just by hugging you.  
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I've been dying to see you", Luke smiled brightly and Ashton wondered how it was possible to be that happy.

Luke took him to the small coffee shop on the other side of the road, it wasn't the Starbucks where Luke worked though Luke insisted to pay and Ashton let him after a while of arguing.  
"So, tell me about yourself", Luke said as they were sitting on the table. Luke was on the opposite side of the table and he was leaning on his other hand and looking at Ashton with a smile on his face.  
"Umm, well... I'm twenty years old and, obviously, I live here, in New York. I'm from Sydney though but I moved here to go to college. And, uh, my life isn't that interesting. I go to college, work and just stay home", Ashton told and stared at his coffee mug.  
"And those two guys live with you? Michael and, um, Calum?" Luke asked and Ashton shook his head.  
"No, they live in Adelaide. They're spending a month here at the moment though", Ashton explained and Luke nodded.  
"I'm twenty too, and I'm from New York and I've almost lived my whole life here", Luke started and Ashton stopped him.  
"Wait! Why were you in Sydney then?"  
"Oh I was an exchange student... And yeah about that, I'm sorry I didn't come to talk to you when we touched. I saw you but lost you in the crowd, then I just looked for you every day but you weren't at school and it seemed like no one knew you", Luke frowned. He told how he had come back to New York only week after their timers stopped. He told how he always wanted to travel back to Australia to meet Ashton.  
"But like what were the possibilities that I'd meet you if I had travelled back? So I just didn't, I though that if we were meant to be then fate would bring us together. And it sure did", Luke spoke and placed his hand on top of Ashton's. He had such a cute smile on his face that Ashton had to smile back.

\--------------------------------------------

They met again the next day and spoke more. And on Tuesday Luke had a day off so he came to pick Ashton up from the college and they took the bus to Ashton's apartment. And maybe Luke took Ashton's hand and held it tightly and maybe Ashton really liked that.  
On Wednesday Ashton had lunch with Luke. Ashton didn't notice the looks Michael gave him every time he came home. Michael and Calum had both noticed how Luke really made Ashton happier, maybe not exactly happy but he wasn't as down all the time.  
On Thursday they finally shared their first kiss.

_After having a very stressful day Ashton finally got to go home. He had two essays to write and he was really not looking forward to that. Luke had just texted him so he typed a quick reply and put his phone on his pocket, he opened the door and walked out of the building. He let out a scream and jumped when suddenly someone hugged him behind._  
 _"Sorry", he heard Luke laugh and pouted when he turned around._  
 _"What are you doing here?" Ashton asked and smiled slightly when Luke took his hand._  
 _"Work doesn't start until five and I wanted to see you", Luke answered and together they started to walk to the bus stop._  
 _"Are you okay?" Luke asked after a while. Ashton glanced at him before looking down again._  
 _"Yeah, I'm just a bit stressed... I have like two essays to write and I'm really tired", Ashton answered and Luke squeezed his hand. He had also noticed the dark bags under his soulmates eyes and his yawning._  
 _"It's gonna be okay", Luke said and Ashton hummed._

_They got off the bus at the stop near Ashton's apartment and walked in silence, hand in hand. Luke was staring at Ashton, his gorgeous curly hair, his cute nose and very hot jawline. Ashton licked his lips and Luke stopped. Ashton turned to look at him confused and tilted his head a bit._  
 _"What?"_  
 _"I was just thinking", Luke answered and Ashton lifted his eyebrow._ /  
 _"What?_ "  
 _"This." And then Luke pressed their lips together. Ashton was surprised and it took him a moment to kiss back. He felt Luke let go of his hand and wrap his both arms around Ashton's waist. Ashton brought his hands up to Luke's shoulders and squeezed them. When they separated Ashton let his head fall on Luke shoulder and he wrapped his arms around Luke's neck. The other boy pressed soft kisses on Ashton's neck and they both had kind of forgotten they were in the middle of the street. Gladly it wasn't very busy road._  
 _Ashton felt overwhelmed and loved. He hadn't felt this good in ages and he loved the feeling. After a while he looked at Luke and smiled, the most real smile in a long time._  
 _"We should do that again some time", Ashton said and Luke laughed._  
 _"We should", Luke chuckled and kissed Ashton's cheek._  
 _"Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" Luke whispered to him and Ashton's nodded._  
 _"Of course." And then they kissed again._

It was Sunday morning and Ashton's day off. He had some schoolwork to do though, he had finished his other essay the night before but he still bad the other one to write. It was already ten o'clock and Ashton was tired, not that it was anything new. Michael and Calum were gonna be out the whole day and Ashton could hear them getting ready.  
Before his friends left they came to check Ashton and he pretended to be sleeping. When he heard the front door close he sighed, today was a bad day. His chest was tight and his head was aching. He wished he could see Luke but he had to work today.  
Ashton's mood only got worse and at some point he was ready to jump off the building, he didn't do that of course. He dragged himself to the bathroom and searched for his blades. He pressed the sharp blade on his left wrist and let the blood pour out, he hadn't done this over a week so it felt good.  
When he was done he weakly got up and walked back to bed. He had no energy to do anything and he would probably end up writing the other essay at night, he just couldn't bring himself to do it now.

At some point he heard his phone beep, he had received a text message. He didn't get his phone and read the message just because he was too tired to do so. After a while he passed out and woke up about an hour later. He was hungry but didn't want to get up so he let it be. He heard his phone beep again and again _and again._ Then suddenly it started go ring and it startled Ashton. He buried his face on the pillow and ignored the ringing. It probably wasn't anything important.  
Time went by and then there was a knock in his door, the doorbell had broke a few days ago. He ignored the knocking and soon after it stopped his phone started to ring. It lasted about half an hour, knocking and phone ringing. But Ashton didn't get up. He wanted to just give up, everything was too much.  
Finally someone opened the door, someone who wasn't Ashton so it had to be Michael or Calum.  
"Ashton?!" That was definitely not Michael or Calum, it was Luke. He heard footsteps getting closer to his room and Michael's voice mumbling something. His door opened and he watched as his two friends and boyfriend walked in.  
"Ashton", Luke said gently and they all surrounded his bed. Luke climbed to sit next to him and petted his hair.  
"I'm so sorry, but I have to say this", Michael started and they all looked at him.  
"You need help... You can't take care of yourself Ash and you are depressed. We've lived with you for two weeks and we see it Ashton. Today we left you breakfast and there was yesterday's spaghetti in the fridge but you haven't touched anything. You haven't eaten have you?" Michael spoke and Ashton shook his head.  
"We can't let you do this to yourself", Calum said and Michael nodded. Ashton looked helplessly at Luke, he didn't need any help!  
"I'm sorry Ash, I love you and I agree with Mikey and Cal. I might have known you only for a week but I see it too", Luke said and Ashton sighed sadly.  
"I'm sorry", he whispered and sat up with Luke's help.  
"We're gonna take you to the hospital tomorrow and you're gonna get help", Michael said and they all agreed, except Ashton of course.  
"No! No hospital! Please", Ashton said loudly. He couldn't let anyone see the things he had done to himself. He could go to some therapist or something if his friends wanted that but not to hospital.  
"Ash", Luke said and Ashton shook his head furiously. He tugged his curls and just then he realized that he wasn't wearing long sleeves, he never slept with long sleeved shirt and because no one had been home today he hadn't been bothered to put on anything else than his boxers and t-shirt.

Luke's eyes went wide and he grabbed Ashton's right wrist. Ashton hissed in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. Luke, Michael and Calum were staring at the cuts on his wrists with wide eyes. Ashton's timer was on his right wrist but it was covered with few white scars. It pained Luke to see that Ashton had been so sad about not finding him that he had felt the need to mutilate his timer. But the scars weren't the worst part. Yes, there was dozens of white scars, but the angry red fresh cuts were the worst.  
"Ashton", Luke whispered and Ashton sniffled.  
"I'm so sorry, I-I'm sorry! S-sometimes I j-just need to do some-something and I'm always s-so tired a-and I just wanna give up", Ashton stuttered and Luke pulled him in a tight hug. Michael and Calum joined them too and Ashton started ti cry.

\--------------------------------------------

They took him to the hospital the next day, Ashton was not so happy about that. He had to skip school and work too, but apparently his health was more important. The hospital trip was not as easy as Ashton thought it'd be. After they examined him Ashton had to tell about his life and then they also spoke to Michael, Calum and Luke. Ashton didn't know what about because they all had to talk to the doctor alone. Then he was taken to a hospital room, given a hospital gown and told to go lay down.  
Let's just say he didn't leave the room for six days.

He was diagnosed with depression, Michael blamed himself for not noticing the signs earlier. Calum had to talk to his boyfriend to make him calm down. Luke just held Ashton's hand and told that everything was gonna be alright. Then they kissed and Ashton smiled. Luke wished that it was a real smile, but it wasn't. Maybe one day.  
Ashton was prescribed some pills for the depression and also sleeping pills. He just agreed with everything and didn't protests. He just didn't care anymore.

Ashton made Michael, Calum and Luke promise that they wouldn't tell his mother about this. Michael said that she deserved to know, Ashton knew that, but he just didn't want her to know.  
After Ashton got out of the hospital there was only one week before Michael and Calum were going back to Australia and Ashton was really going to miss them. But now he had Luke so it wouldn't be that bad, he wouldn't be so alone anymore.  
Nowadays he actually got some sleep because of the sleeping pills, and maybe his boyfriend sleeping next to him helped also. He wasn't feeling so down anymore either, thanks to the antidepressants. He got a month off from work and he seriously needed it.

\------------------------------------------------

**1 year later**

"Baby, are you alright", Luke asked and climbed in the bed next to Ashton. The curly haired boy smiled at his boyfriend and pulled him down so he could kiss him.  
"I'm fine, just wanted to lay down for a while", Ashton answered and Luke kissed him again.  
"We should start to pack maybe, our flight leaves in twelve hours", Luke reminded Ashton and he nodded.  
"I can't wait to see my family", Ashton sighed and sat up. They had visited Australia three times that year, apparently Luke's parents were quite rich and didn't mind buying their tickets. Ashton was forever thankful for them.  
"And I've packed almost everything, unlike you. I just need to get my pills and toothbrush and small things like that", Ashton continued and Luke stuck his tongue out to him. Ashton quickly licked it and Luke grimaced.  
"Heyy!" he whined and Ashton laughed. Luke smiled fondly, he could never get tired of hearing Ashton laugh. It had taken weeks until he had seen the real smile and hear that amazing laugh, but it was worth it.  
Ashton had to help Luke to pack and they barely made it to their flight even though they had packed long before leaving. They were never really punctual and one time they had actually missed their flight.

When they landed in Sydney airport Michael was there to pick them up, he and Calum were visiting Sydney too but the four of them would go to Adelaide after Christmas to celebrate New Year and then Luke and Ashton would fly back to New York.  
"Hi man, so good to see you", Michael said and Ashton hugged him tightly. He was forever thankful for Michael too, he was the best friend Ashton could've ever asked for. He had always been there for Ashton.  
"Nice to see you too Giraffe", Michael said to Luke and they shared a quick hug too.  
"Fuck you", Luke said and punched Michael. Luke was quite tall and Michael liked to call him giraffe, Luke didn't really like that.  
"Ow, Ashton he's violent do something!" Michael whined and Ashton laughed.  
"You deserved it."

They drove to their house and Ashton's mom and siblings greeted them with lots if hugs and kisses. Luke was maybe Harry's favorite person ever, he had instantly befriended Luke when they first time visited Ashton's family.  
Ashton and Luke excused themselves soon though because they were very tired after the flight. They went to Ashton's bedroom and immediately collapsed on the bed.  
"It's so good to be home", Ashton mumbled just before he fell asleep wrapped in Luke's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and leave kudos. :) x


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